Initial Claims at 3-Month Low

Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell for the fourth straight week to their lowest level in three months, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

For the week ending September 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims fell to 222,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The four-week moving average fell to 233,000, a decrease of 7,500 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held at 1.0 percent for the week ending August 27, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 27 fell to 1,473,000, an increase of 36,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The four-week moving average rose to 1,439,000, an increase of 10,750 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 175,842 in the week ending September 3, an increase of 1,978 (1.1 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 7,073 (4.1 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 285,950 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate held at 1.0 percent during the week ending August 27, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,437,982, an increase of 47,449 (3.4 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 11,492 (0.8 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.9 percent; volume was 2,668,660.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending August 20 fell to 1,414,849, a decrease of 23,283 from the previous week. Labor reported 11,927,797 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2021.